The car in question is a 1983 mk 3 1st generation RX-7 missing the engine and gearbox (plus god knows what else). The structure of the car appears to be sound with some notable exceptions. The front sills require some significant work to remove and weld replacements, as does the interior of the rear wheel wells to the front. The rest of the car appears to be in quite stunning condition considering the age and care of the car. Most of the body appears to have been several shades of red at several times, and while there is some bubbling, the car seems to have little else in the way of repair to consider UPDATE - the sills were in pretty poor nick, but given this is meant to be a budget development, the damage is easily repairable for the time being with mesh, fibreglass and filler. Not ideal, but with the financial limitations for the project, it will do, and can be easily sorted at a later date without affecting the rest of the car...
The interior of the car is also in very good condition. Removal of the interior trim has revealed a solid car, with little in the way of repair required. At this time, it is assumed much of the cars interior will not be retained. New covering will be used for those items that will be (roof lining and dash for example), and only the front seats will be replaced. A new stereo installation will be installed in the rear to match the rest of the car and some planning will be required for this alone. Some space will be kept for storage as this will be something of a practical car (likely to be used for weekends camping, etc). Mazdabags will be used for custom storage bags within the car, and some of the interior trim. Possible seating choices are second hand FD seats, or some form of bucket seat. Racing harnesses will be used for driver and passenger restraint.
A 13b T2 engine is to be rebuilt, along with a T2 gearbox which will require some mechanical and electrical work to fit – these are detailed later in this document. It is hoped the final power output will be around 250hp at the rear wheels with some scope for increase should this prove a low cost option. UPDATE - the engine I've bought gave the previous car 210RWHP with stock setup and standard ECU. I would hope we can increase this even with the stock turbo. If the GT35 promised to the becomes a reality, game on!!
The suspension and brakes will be improved to handle the additional power, although the steering is unlikely to be updated for this updating process.
Finally, the appearance of the car will require some significant work. The windows will receive a tint (colour and depth to be decided later in the project), and a complete smoothing of the body and trim will be finished with a candy finish – colour to be decided. Seventeen inch wheels should be a finishing touch to the project, and the final result should be a quality 1st gen RX-7 which will turn heads, and offer performance to match.